Second half explosion for Pirates help tame Tigers, 82-78

COSTA MESA -- It was a tale of two halves for the Orange Coast College men's basketball team as the Pirates overcame a 17-point second-half deficit to stun visiting Riverside City College, 82-78, on Friday night inside the Peterson Gym.

After being held to just 26 first-half points on 7-of-27 shooting from the floor, the Pirates (14-9, 6-5 in the Orange Empire Conference) were white hot in the second half with 56 points on 19-of-28 shooting, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range.

Jydon Hall scored 29 points, including 28 in the second half, to lead the OCC comeback, while Logen Howard added 24 points and four assists.

For the Tigers (14-9, 7-4), Courtland Moffatt led the way with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Reggie Ward and Jalen Monroe each added 14 points.

It looked like it was going to be an enjoyable ride home for the Tigers after controlling all facets of the game in the first half, jumping out to a 25-9 lead in the first 11 minutes of play.

RCC led by 13 at the break and pushed the lead up to 17 at 43-26 with 18:41 remaining before the Pirate shooters came to life.

Over the next eight minutes, OCC went on a 36-17 run to take a 62-60 advantage. Hall had 16 of his 29 points during that eight-minute span to spark life back into the Pirates.

Riverside picked itself off of the canvas and scored seven of the next eight points to regain the advantage, 67-63 with 5:26 left, but OCC went on another run after that, outscoring the Tigers 14-3 to take the lead for good.

Hall was a man possessed in the second half, going 9-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range and 6-of-10 from the foul line for 28 second-half points.

OCC will return to action on Friday at Fullerton College, beginning at 6 p.m. before returning to the Peterson Gym on Wednesday, Feb. 8 against Saddleback, also at 6 p.m.